The corrupt practices of the rich will severely affect the middle-to-lower classes.

Staggering amounts of money have been wiped off the value of the Steinhoff empire this week, as CEO Markus Jooste was forced to resign over ‘accounting irregularities’. As always in these cases, the ripple effect will be felt lower down the chain…

As reported by TimesLive, All government workers belong to the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF). The GEPF are managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and that’s not good news for state employees…

How will Steinhoff affect South Africa?

PIC have a major investment in Steinhoff shares. Before the crash, their 8.56% stake was worth R20 billion. Now, it’s been slashed to just R2 billion. Their market value has been slashed by an excruciating 90%, at a cost of R18 billion for this shareholder.

This catastrophic plummet in value is expected to have a severe impact on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The share-price drops on the JSE will then have a huge knock-on effect for the GEPF because they are the single biggest investor in the market.

What will Steinhoff mean for pensions?

So, where will the money recovery come from? Why, the pensions of 230,000 government workers, of course. Tahir Maepa is the deputy general manager of the Public Service Association (PSA). He said in a statement that the public service trade union would not allow any plundering of employee savings:

“The PSA has in the past focused on unlisted investments‚ but will now intensify its fight to also focus on listed investments. The PSA will not allow financial mismanagement and corruption to impoverish public servants and will take all necessary steps to ensure that members’ rights and interests are protected.”

When big business fails, it’s so often the little guys who are left to pick up the pieces. Markus Jooste’s unscrupulous financial practices haven’t just landed him in the shit. It has put hundreds of thousands of people at severe risk of losing money too.